Crutches and Clues
by misfire ezreal
Summary: How much of a coincidence could it be that both the love of his life and his sweet, ditzy classmate have the same kind of fracture on the same ankle? A big one. That's what Adrien hopes, anyway, but even he's starting to doubt that… /PART 2 is UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Crutches and Clues**

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

* * *

They both knew it was going to end badly when the Akuma shoved her roughly down the side of the steep, rocky drop-off.

She tumbled down, unable to find a solid grip anywhere along the side of the hill to hold onto – it was pouring outside, and the ground was slippery. Her ankle roughly bumped a jagged rock – she heard a crack – and then her descent finally ended, and her body rolled to an undignified stop in a puddle of mud.

Dazed, Ladybug did her best to gather herself, blinking her blurry, red-tinged vision away. She sat up, looked up in time to catch sight of Chat looking down worriedly at her, saw the Akuma behind him poised to attack.

"Look out!" she called, pointing. Chat followed her gaze, eyes narrowing, and he hopped carefully down to join Ladybug at the bottom of the hill's abrupt drop-off.

"You okay?" he asked, raising his staff in preparation. She nodded, realized belatedly that he couldn't see the gesture, and replied with a quick affirmative, moving to stand.

She promptly winced, a sharp pain zapping from her ankle to her entire lower leg, and flopped uselessly back onto the ground.

"Ladybug?"

"Do not defile this park!" called the nature-based Akuma above them. Flowers and branches curled around his arms, with tough-looking stone enveloping him and his tainted amethyst necklace, and around him, rocks and pebbles began to raise off the ground. "It's people like you who hurt this world's natural beauty!"

Ladybug grit her teeth, standing slowly and leaning mostly on her only good foot.

"Okay, I guess I'm _not_ okay," she said. "I think I broke something on my fall." She waved Chat's concerned eyes away. "Focus, Chat! We need to end this before the Akuma can take advantage of us!"

"Right." Chat Noir's eyes locked back on the Akuma above them, and just in time: the Akuma made a flurry of hand gestures, and the rocks that had floated ominously around him hurled themselves towards the superheroes. Chat twirled his staff in his hands, deflecting the sharp stones as he called out to Ladybug over his shoulder. "Now or never, My Lady!" With a crack of finality, the last pebbles fell harmlessly beside Chat Noir.

She nodded, agreeing. "Lucky Charm!"

In a storm of ladybugs and red-tinged light, a diamond-studded yo-yo plopped into Ladybug's outstretched hand. She looked down at it, frowning just a bit, the gears turning in her head. She looked around quickly: the cliffside, the stone substance on the man's body, the chain of the necklace…!

"Got it!" She leaned onto Chat's shoulder. "Help me back up there!"

Chat smirked. "Your wish is my command!" He scooped her up into his arms, careful with her injured leg, and hopped quickly back up to safety. "Need a distraction?"

" _Please,_ " she breathed as he placed her gently back on the ground. Chat didn't need to be told twice: he took off at a charge, yelling loudly to draw the Akuma's attention. He hopped above it, whacking its left armored side with his staff, and using the momentum to propel himself to the other side. He successfully drew its attention. With a snarl, the Akuma released a hailstorm of leaves and stones at him.

While Chat kept the Akuma busy, Ladybug limped closer to it, beginning to spin her yo-yo in circles until it moves so quickly it emitted an audible pitch. Then she yelled, "Now!"

She could always count on Chat to be on the exact same page as her.

He quickly ducked under the rubble being thrown his way, and using his staff to deflect a swipe, he hopped on the Akuma's back, trapping one of its arms above it. It left an exposed part open to attack. Ladybug swung with the diamond-studded yo-yo.

"No use!" cried the Akuma, using his other armored arm to block the attack.

But the yo-yo easily cracked through the armor, passing through it and wrapping around the necklace's chain. Ladybug yanked hard, and the chain snapped; Chat snatched the piece of amethyst and tossed it towards her.

It landed at her feet, and she retracted her yo-yo, took aim, and smashed the amethyst. A black butterfly fluttered out.

She grinned, a familiar warmth flowing through her as she purified the butterfly and returned everything to how it ought to be. She and Chat shared a fist bump, mission accomplished, before both their Miraculous Stones beeped shrilly, remind them that they had to leave.

She turned, but Chat stopped her.

"Wait, Ladybug," he said, voice laced with worry, "Aren't you hurt?"

"Yes," she replied simply. "But I'll be fine." Her earrings beeped again, warning of the time ticking away before their transformations faded.

"Are you sure?" Chat asked. Ladybug nodded.

"Yeah." She smiled, waved, and hobbled off, biting her lip to keep from wincing from the pain that coursed through her ankle with every step she took.

Chat looked on nervously until she faded out of sight before turning and dashing away.

Even if she was hurt, he believed in her when she said she'd be okay.

* * *

Adrien spent the next day boredly in class, tapping his notes with his pencil. He was more than a little bit distracted; Ladybug had gotten hurt, and he hadn't been able to stop it. He'd been mentally berating himself since yesterday for it, playing the scene over and over in his head: the sound of the rain, the scream, she let out when she fell, the sickening snap his ears picked up, the terror that engulfed him when she didn't get back up after falling down.

He gulped down the guilt washing over him and tried to tune back in to Mme. Mendeleiev's lecture. They were covering something about atom shapes in chemistry – he wasn't entirely sure, because he hadn't finished the reading assignment last night, and he'd been wrapped up in his horrible memories of yesterday while she'd been reviewing the material in class – and it was with great relief to him that Mme. Mendeleiev wrapped up quickly, dismissing them after reminding them that they would be assigned project partners next class.

Adrien quickly gathered his belongings. Nino began talking about some new movie that had come out, excited that they were planning on going to go see it on Friday, and Adrien was grateful to return his attention to less startling things.

"It's really gonna be awesome," Nino said.

"It sure sounds like it," Adrien agreed.

"Yeah," Nino replied. His eyes drifted behind them. "Though if Marinette's not feeling up to it, maybe we should put it off until next week."

Adrien turned around. Alya was walking alone, her constant companion and best friend nowhere in sight. When the teachers had asked where Marinette was, Alya had explained that her friend had hurt herself on her way home in the thunderstorm yesterday. Adrien had immediately felt concern for the girl; he considered her a friend, and she was terribly sweet, but she was also prone to clumsiness. Alya assured him and Nino that she was fine, just a little beat up, but she was getting a cast, which was why she wouldn't be in classes today.

Adrien felt his guilt creep up on him again.

That was _two_ girls he couldn't help yesterday.

"Yeah," Adrien answered Nino. "Let's wait and see how she's doing."

Alya must have heard them from over by her locker, because she wheeled around and called over to them.

"We should go visit her, if you want to check on her!"

Nino's eyes lit up, and he turned to look expectantly at Adrien. Adrien, in turn, nodded, a small smile gracing his lips. "Yo, let's do it!"

"Great!" Alya said. "I was planning on going to go see her after this, anyways." She giggled. "She told me she's on a _ton_ of nice painkillers, so she's probably gonna be a little loopy."

"Haha! Hope she doesn't let anything slip she doesn't want us to know."

Nino laughed along with Alya; Adrien wondered if he was missing something, but it didn't really matter.

"We should pick up a get-well-soon gift for her," Nino said. "What do you think she'd like?"

"A feel-better kiss from her crush," Alya replied. "But I don'bet she'll settle for flowers."

Adrien blinked, absorbing this information. "She has a crush?" he asked, a warm feeling spreading through him. Imagining sweet,ditzy Marinette pining over someone was amusing, and also endearing. "Who is it?"

Alya snorted. "I'm sworn to secrecy," she responded.

Adrien shrugged. "Okay." It really wasn't any of his business, anyway; if Marinette wanted him to know, she would tell him on her own. "I know a florist we can call," he said, pulling out his cell phone. "I'm sure she'll be able to help us get something nice for her."

Nino and Alya responded enthusiastically, and around thirty minutes later, Adrien's limousine pulled him and his friends up in front of Marinette's home, a pretty arrangement of red and white flowers and lacy ribbons sitting in the back with them. Adrien did the honor of carrying it into the bakery; after a warm welcome by the Dupain-Cheng parents, they headed upstairs to Marinette's room.

Alya knocked and called out to Marinette that she, Nino and Adrien were there before opening the door. They walked in, and Adrien was just as surprised as Nino when they found Marinette not lying in bed, as they expected, but ripping something quickly off her wall instead, a pile of posters and papers already bundled in her hands.

"A-ah!" She seemed surprised, her eyes wide, and she practically chucked the items in her hands under her desk, throwing the largest poster face-down on top of the rest of the papers. "H-Hi, everyone!"

Alya was cackling beside him. Adrien smiled before realizing she probably couldn't see it through the bunch of flowers in front of his face. He looked around, and decided to put the flowers down on the side of her desk. He snuck a glance at the posters she'd tossed underneath it, but he couldn't see anything besides the blank backside of the large poster.

"You should be lying down, you silly girl!" Alya scolded, helping Marinette over to the bed again. "Okay, so spill, what did the doctor say?"

Marinette glanced nervously over at Adrien, and he took that as an invitation to come join the others gathered around her bed. "Uhm," she said. "It… It could have been worse. Doctor said. That it could have been.. Uhm… Yeah." Adrien could see the toll the heavy painkillers were taking on the girl now that he was closer; her eyes were a little glazed over, like she was partially in a dream-state, and her sentences were more choppy than usual. She seemed to realize that; she was turning red, and when her eyes met his for a brief moment, she ducked her head, embarrassed.

"You're lucky, then," Nino said. Marinette smiled brilliantly at that, as if it was some inside secret to her.

"You have no idea," she replied. "But I'll have to have crutches for the next two weeks, at least."

"That bites," Alya said. "But hey, at least you'll be coming back to school soon!"

Marinette nodded, smiling. "Yup!"

"I brought your notes and homework, by the way," Alya said, rummaging around in her backpack. She pulled out some papers and put them beside Marinette's bed. "Don't worry about doing it today, though," she said in a warning tone as Marinette started to reach for her homework. "Get some rest first."

Marinette nodded, lying back in her bed. "It's just a fracture…" she mumbled.

"It's still an injury," Adrien said. Her blue eyes swiveled to look at him, going a little wide as he continued to speak. "You should be careful with it, Marinette."

His heart did a little flip-flop when she sent an appreciative smile his way.

"Thank you, Adrien!" she said. "I will. I definitely will. I'll be so careful with you – I mean me – I mean –My foot! My foot. Careful with it."

 _So cute,_ he thought, charmed by her well-meant stuttering. _I'm glad I have such a sweet friend._

* * *

It wasn't until a day later that Marinette returned to school.

There hadn't been any Akuma attacks, which Adrien was eternally grateful for. It meant Ladybug would be able to heal whatever she'd broken during their last battle. She needed time to recover.

"Welcome back, Marinette!" Nino called when he saw Marinette enter the classroom.

She was on crutches.

"Hi," she said, smiling at them. Adrien stood when she started managing her way up the steps, putting a helpful hand under her arms to help her up to her seat. She stiffened, and he guessed it was because he had done it without giving her any warning of it. He pulled her chair out for her, and she sat quickly, leaning her crutches on the side of her desk.

"Th-Thank you," she breathed. Adrien smiled sympathetically at her.

"No problem," he said. "How's the foot?" he asked, gesturing to her injury.

"M-My ankle?" she asked. "Uh, fine."

"Okay." When she didn't say anything else, he awkwardly waved and settled back into his own seat. Nino elbowed him, wagging his eyebrows, and Adrien had noearthly idea what that was supposed to mean, so he just elbowed his friend back, eliciting a laugh from him. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," Nino said, shaking his head. "That was nice of you, is all." Nino tilted his head towards the opposite side of the room. "Though I bet Chloe disagrees."

Adrien turned his head and, indeed, Chloe was staring daggers at Marinette; the blonde girl was definitely upset about something. Adrien shrugged helplessly.

"She doesn't like Marinette," he said. "I doubt she'd agree with anything involving her."

Nino hummed his assent. "I'm glad you're more agreeable than she is."

Adrien shrugged. "She's not disagreeable," he said in his oldest friend's defense. "She's just…" He glanced back at her.

"Spoiled?" Nino offered.

" _Touchy,_ " Adrien said. "Not a bad person, just _touchy._ "

Nino looked very much like he wanted to argue, but just then, Mme. Bustier entered the room, effectively ending their conversation. Adrien spared Marinette a reassuring smile before turning his attention to their French lecture.

If Marinette had broken her foot from just stumbling in the storm, Adrien wondered how badly Ladybug had hurt herself while fighting the Akuma.

* * *

 **I just updated this story on tumblr, but I realized it's not on this site! I had to fix that. :)**

 **xoxoPigTails**


	2. Chapter 2

**Crutches and Clues**

* * *

 _Chapter Two_

* * *

Turns out he didn't have to wait long to ask her.

The rest of school had passed quickly, with the only really noteworthy thing being his assignement to a project with Marinette as his partner. They had exchanged numbers, with Marinette stumbling over her words in her usual, endearing way, and had promised to figure out a time to get together and work on the final product. He was going to enjoy working on a project with his bubbly, if a little scatterbrained, friend. And he'd be sure to make sure she didn't put any more stress on her foot than was necessary; he decided that he'd keep his driver on call in case they went anywhere besides her bedroom to work.

Almost right after classes ended, an Akuma had attacked. It took the form of what looked like a television and, using a controller that looked almost exactly like an Xbox one, directed miniature pixelated monsters to wreak havoc on Paris. Adrien ducked back into a school bathroom to transform, and by the time he found his way onto a rooftop near the Akuma, Ladybug was already on the scene. He closed the distance between them in three large strides, joining her as she peeked out from behind a chimney.

"Good timing, Chat," she said, her eyes not leaving the Akuma. "I could use your help right now."

The crutches tucked at her side did not go unnoticed by the black-clad superhero. It was startling, since he'd just seen Marinette with the same brand of crutches earlier that day, and he felt a sharp pang of guilt. He hadn't been able to protect Ladybug, and that was why she wouldn't be able to fight Akuma in the same way she normally would.

"How bad is your leg?" he asked, motioning towards the cast wrapped around her foot. Her transformation had changed her cast to make it also blend into her costume; it was red with black spots, and blended well with her costume aside from the obvious bulging caused by the plaster casing.

"Ankle," she corrected automatically, as if she'd been answering the question all day and had become a mechanical response. (She probably had answered the question all day, he realized belatedly, since she was most likely a student, same as him.) "And it's fine. Could've been worse."

A wave of nostalgia rushed over him at her words. Marinette had said something to the same effect yesterday, hadn't she? He brushed off the uneasy nagging feeling in his head, and focused on the matter at hand.

"Okay. So how're we gonna beat this thing?" he asked, ducking behind the chimney to glance over at Ladybug. She wore a frown, and she looked down at the roof, lost in thought.

"I'll have to use the Lucky Charm carefully," she said. "I can't move at all with my ankle like this. Not fast enough, anyway. So a direct fight's not gonna work." She finally looked up, her sky-blue eyes meeting his green ones. "You'll probably have to handle all the hard work. Sorry."

"No problem," he answered, rolling his shoulders and smirking. "I prefer getting my hands dirty, anyways." He peered around the chimney to look at the Akuma again. "So you need me to wear it down?"

"If you can. Just keeping it occupied is fine." Ladybug shifted, moving to hoist herself up with her crutches. But one slipped on the tiled rooftop, and it was only because Chat quickly reached out and steadied her that she didn't go tumbling off the edge of the building.

"Careful!" he admonished her, only releasing her when he was sure she was steady this time. "You're hurt."

She huffed. "Yeah, I know. You're right."

There it was again. That strange sensation that he'd had this conversation before. He tried to dismiss it again; Ladybug had been with him when she had gotten hurt, but Marinette had fallen in the rain and hurt herself miles away.

Right?

Before he could continue worrying about it, Ladybug started carefully making her way around to the other side of the chimney.

"The Akuma's in the controller. Bring him close enough so that I'll be able to smash it," Ladybug said. "Okay?" She turned, and their eyes locked.

"Whatever you say, my Lady," he breathed. He broke their gaze, and hopped towards the Akuma. His face was definitely red, his heart pounding a mile a minute; Ladybug's gorgeous sky-blue eyes always had that effect on him. Normally, he would conceal it with a swift smirk and waggling eyebrows, but today was not a day to waste time.

The longer this battle lasted, more more likely it was that Ladybug could get more injured than she already was.

Adrien reached the Akuma and decided to be straightforward: with a snarl, he extended his staff to try and knock the Xbox controller out of the Akuma's hands. It didn't work; he hadn't expected it to. But the action served its intended purpose. The Akuma whirled to face him, eyes livid and narrowed.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you too many games are bad for your eyes?" Chat called out.

"So is staring at stars, but that's a recognized profession!" replied the Akuma, and with a quick jiggling of the controller's joystick, Chat found himself fighting off pixel rockets. They exploded harmlessly upon impact with his staff, and Adrien swung sure, deflecting each rocket, tracking incoming ones with his eyes and making split-second decisions about how best to block them all. His years of fencing proved themselves infinitely useful, and he was grateful he had a natural talent for the sport.

"You mean astonomy?" asked Chat, surprised. What did _that_ have to do with games?

"Precisely!" responded the Akuma. "Yet gaming is scoffed at as even a decent profession. Why? How is it any different than being a doctor, or a teacher?" The Akuma clicked on his controller a few times; a new arsenal of laser guns appeared from thin air, and Chat tensed his muscles in anticipation. "They all require hard work, and dedication, and lots of practice and time honing your technique!" With a final click on the controller, the laser guns began firing; Chat dodged, rolling, and then extended his staff to haul himself safely onto an adjacent rooftop. He ducked an incoming wave of laser blasts quickly.

"You want to be a professional gamer?" The realization was pretty quick. Chat glanced back at the Akuma, and then towards the rooftop where Ladybug was standing, gesturing for him to hurry. He must have missed her activating her Lucky Charm, because she was holding something gold and glittery in her hands – he squinted – was that a _Super Star?_

"So what if I do?" asked the Akuma. "Nobody can stop me. I'll change everyone's opinion about gaming. The world will come to respect us gamers, and we'll finally be able to pursue our dreams without consequences!"

Chat hauled himself back up, running at the Akuma. He bridged the distance between them, his staff whacking suddenly on the controller. This time, he did take the Akuma by surprise, and the controller skidded onto the rooftop Ladybug was on. She reached for it, but quickly retracted her hand when a laser beam shot towards her.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir abandoned the Akuma, leaping off of it to land beside her. He snatched up the controller and made to hand it to Ladybug, but then a laser beam zapped his hand, causing a static sting that forced him to drop it. It landed on the rooftop and tumbled closer to the edge.

Where the Akuma, hands outstretched, picked it up.

"I have to take your Miraculous," said the tainted creature, extending a palm. He swiveled the controller's joystick, and large, pixel hammers appeared threateningly in the air above Chat Noir and Ladybug. "If you hand them over, you won't get hurt."

Ladybug shook her head.

"I don't think so," she snapped, and pulled the Super Star closer to her; it glowed more brightly, and she closed her eyes as it melded into her costume. Chat's eyes widened.

Ladybug was glowing. Brilliant golds and silvers, too difficult to stare at for more than a few seconds at a time. The Akuma growled, squinting as he pressed a button that sent the hammers plummeting down; Ladybug pushed Chat down, and when he looked up from his place against the tiles of the roof, he saw her effortlessly standing, a dazzling smile on her face as the hammers dissolved upon touching her.

"If you want people to respect your career choice, you have to work hard andprove that you made the right decision, not just force people into unwillingly admitting it." She hopped towards the Akuma, easily batting away the haphazardly-assembled pixel creatures the Akuma directed at her, before yanking the controller out of his hands and returning to the rooftop. She smashed it with a quick flick of her yo-yo, and a black butterfly fluttered out.

She was standing evenly on both her legs.

Chat couldn't keep the awed smile off his face as she purified the butterfly and used her Miraculous Ladybug to return everything to how it should be, minus the glowing effects of the Super Star around her body.

She was amazing. Amazing, and beautiful, and…

…And wincing, leaning heavily on one foot again as the Super Star's effects suddenly wore off. Adrien rushed to her side, helping her stand steadily again, handing back the crutches she'd abandoned on the rooftop.

"Thanks," she said, almost sheepishly.

Chat nodded. "You're welcome." Ladybug smiled, and extended her fist; he bumped it with his own, and they exchanged wide grins. "Need help off the rooftop?" he asked her.

Ladybug opened her mouth as if to say no, but then closed it, looking down at her crutches. Then she sighed, nodding. "Yeah."

He couldn't keep a wicked grin off his face as he swept her up effortlessly into his arms with more lavishness than was necessary, tucking her crutches sideways under an arm before hopping off the building and landing safely on the ground below.

She crossed her arms, but smiled, when he put her back down. "Thanks, Chat."

"Any time," he replied, handing her the crutches. Her earrings chirped, and he took that as his cue to bid her farewell. "Stay safe, my Lady."

"Your hand's okay?" she asked, concerned. He nodded, raising his hand so she could see for herself. "Good. I was worried."

"I'm flattered for your concern, but I'm fine," Chat laughed. "Get going, Ladybug."

She waved, and then headed down the street (probably towards an alley), and he was about to turn away, but her hobbling silhouette against the backdrop of busy Parisian streets and shops made him freeze in place.

His eyes zeroed in on her injured ankle.

It was the same ankle Marinette had injured. Wrapped with the same-sized cast as Marinette's.

 _No way._ Even as he ducked into a public bathroom to de-transform, he denied it. _There's no way they're the same._ His Ladybug was strong and confident in almost everything she did; Marinette was shy and always unsure of herself.

But the way Marinette acted around Adrien's classmates, and around Chat Noir, he reminded himself, was different than his impression of Marinette at school. Closer to the way Ladybug acted, at least.

But _still_. They _couldn't_ be the same person. They'd gotten hurt in different places, in different ways, at different times. And besides, Marinette had brown eyes, right? Actually, he'd never really noticed the color of her eyes… But he surely would have recognized Ladybug's sky-blue eyes, face-mask or no. He was confident that he could pick Ladybug out of a crowd, with or without a costume.

No, it couldn't be. No way. It just couldn't. It had to be a coincidence. After all, it was already a coincidence that they'd gotten hurt on the same day, right? Not much of a stretch from there to assume the rain had caused them both to get hurt in similar ways.

Right?

* * *

 **So I got my friend lioriel into ladybug. good. enjoy your stay. (nobody's allowed to leave. ever.)**

 **Review if you liked it! Thanks for reading, everyone. :)**

 **xoxoPigTails**


	3. Chapter 3

**Crutches and Clues**

* * *

 _Chapter Three_

* * *

By the time they had finished their project, Adrien was about 90% sure that Marinette wasn't Ladybug.

Since they'd gotten to the library three hours prior, Marinette had tripped once going downstairs and twice going upstairs – in the ELEVATOR. She'd also accidentally mixed their last names up while writing on their poster board – in SHARPIE; on top of that, she'd struggled to form more than a few coherent sentences at a time while conversing with him. (The last bit he chalked up to her being nervous around him, which was no secret to anyone in their class, him included. Adrien figured it had to do with his line of work making him seem unapproachable.)

But to top it all off?

An akuma had attacked while Marinette was off grabbing a reference book, and he'd caught sight of her ducking into a restroom; not a minute later, Ladybug had come out of the same restroom, assured him Marinette was safe, and told him to hide as well, since she would protect him. (She wasn't very convincing about the protecting bit, what with her crutches tucked under her arms as she hobbled slowly forwards, but that was beside the point, because with Chat and her Lucky Charm, she'd managed alright.)

So there was NO WAY Marinette was Ladybug; it really _was_ just a coincidence, after all. Adrien felt relieved, but he also felt something else tugging from behind his ribcage, a sort of mellow feeling that he couldn't quite remember the name of, though he could swear it was on the tippity-tip of his tongue.

Marinette was just Marinette: sweet, clumsy, talented Marinette, the girl who sat behind him in school. She wasn't Ladybug.

"A-Adrien?"

He turned around, grateful he'd ducked into a quieter part of the library to de-transform in before Marinette could manage to track him down. His secret identity as Chat Noir was safe.

As his eyes found her freckled face, she smiled, relief flooding her features, posture relaxing, and despite his own relief at seeing she was unharmed, his previous feeling intensified, washing over him like a gentle ocean wave. The cat let go of his tongue, so to speak, and his current emotion's name came barreling to the forefront of his mind.

Disappointment. Cold, hard disappointment, like coming home to his too-empty mansion and his too-cold father.

He was disappointed that Marinette wasn't Ladybug.

Still, though, when she blinked nervously up at him through her bangs, he smiled. "Marinette, you're okay! I was worried."

Marinette ducked her head again, probably to consider her next words, then looked up, smiling so brightly her eyes closed a bit.

"Me, too! I'm glad you're all right."

"Yeah." Then Adrien stretched his arms, exaggerating the movement so he could change the topic; no need to delve into Akuma fights when the last thing he wanted to let slip was anything about his alter-ego. "Okay, I guess that's enough working on the project for one day." He nodded towards the door downstairs. "It's almost time to get to the movie, anyway."

Marinette nodded vigorously, and Adrien quickly retrieved their belongings and led Marinette down the elevator (which, SURPRISE, she tripped in again) and out to his limousine. After insisting she ride with him – because, despite her protests, there was NO way Adrien was going to let her limp twelve plus blocks to the theater and run the risk of agitating her ankle – Marinette finally sidled down in the seat next to his, nervously running a hand over one of her pigtails.

"Thank you," she supplied.

"No problem," he answered. They made short chit-chat in the car ride, made just a little awkward by a few silences between them that stretched a few seconds too long, and then they were at their destination, hurrying to grab their tickets and some seats with Alya and Nino, who greeted them inside the theater.

"I bet it'll be good," Alya said as they made their way up the theater steps. Marinette maneuvered carefully with her crutches, but since she was prone to tripping, Adrien stayed close on her heels, keeping an eye on her in case she lost her balance.

"Yeah, I hope so," Marinette agreed excitedly. "I've been waiting for this to come out for months, I'm really excited!" She laughed, a bright sound that made Adrien think of the Parisian skyline at night, dotted with yellow lights and navy clouds and skies. "I'm so glad we're all watching this together."

"Oh, Marinette," Alya giggled. "As if I could pass up an opportunity like this! We can gush about EVERYTHING afterwards, okay?"

"Okay!"

The girls maneuvered their way into an aisle in the middle of the theater, and grabbed the seats right in the center. Alya helped Marinette settle down into her seat first. Then she waved Adrien over.

"You can sit here, I don't mind." As Marinette made a sound that vaguely reminded Adrien of a choking cat, Alya placed a reassuring hand on her friends shoulder. "Don't worry, me and Nino just want to watch from a little ways away." Alya gave Marinette a wink and a thumbs-up before sitting two seats down with Nino, chattering excitedly about the movie. Adrien sat down beside a bright red Marinette, and when Adrien shot her a grin and proffered the popcorn towards her, she accepted with a gentle smile.

"Looking forward to this, huh?" he asked. She nodded rapidly.

"Mhm!" she hummed through her mouthful of popcorn. Adrien grinned.

"Me, too," he said. "Hope it turns out as good as the reviews are saying."

Through the commercials, they eventually dissolved into chuckles and snorts over something or other, but it was when their eyes met after laughing that time came to a sudden, jarring standstill for Adrien.

Their eyes met, and a realization hit him harder than a brick to the head.

Her eyes were blue.

 _Sky_ -blue.

The lights dimmed in the theater, but he didn't catch a single second of the movie.

* * *

He was no longer 90% sure that Marinette wasn't Ladybug. Not even 5%, actually.

This whole time.

This whole, entire time. Sweet, clumsy, talented Marinette, the girl who sat behind him in school. She was Ladybug. She was His Lady, the love of his life, the queen of his heart, the yin to his yang, the good to his bad...

She'd been right there the whole time.

His princess had turned out to be his knight in shining armor. The girl who had turned his whole world upside down, who took his breath away, who made him fall head over heels in a fantastically undignified way for a cat.

Marinette was Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette.

So in other words... Marinette _was_ just Marinette. Just not in the way he'd thought.

Through the blackness of the theater, Adrien stole a glance at Marinette sitting beside him, totally enthralled in the movie. He could barely make out the outline of her cast in the thick of the dark. Something made his stomach feel jittery.

She'd gotten hurt. She fell down in the rain. It all made sense now. Marinette wasn't the type of person to directly lie to people. Neither was Ladybug. She'd told as much of the truth as she could, without giving herself away.

He realized with a start that he would have to do the same. Tell the truth. Come clean about figuring it out, eventually.

Tell Marinette he loved her.

His heart stopped momentarily.

 _Eventually._

Once the movie was over and he had adequate enough time to both freak out and calm down over his newest revelation, Adrien stood and silently offered Marinette a hand and a careful smile, confident he could figure things out as he went. There was no rush to confess anything, romantic or otherwise; he could take things slowly, work his way up to it all. But as soon as their eyes locked, he froze up, unable to break away from staring into the two pools of light blue in front of him.

And then, thankfully, his Chat instincts kicked in. With a wide grin, he pulled Marinette up from her seat and close to him, just a little bit closer than Adrien and Marinette would stand, but exactly as close as Chat and Ladybug would. It felt so familiar, so _right_.

"So what did you think?" he asked her, grabbing her crutches for her. His eyes didn't stray from hers. Marinette quickly turned a bright red, taking the crutches from him. Then she broke their gaze, glancing down to make sure her crutches were secure on the ground before smiling back up at him.

Her eyes and her smile knocked him _breathless_.

"G-Good," she replied, eyelashes batting prettily as she looked up at him.

"Yeah," Adrien managed, placing a hand on her back as she moved down the aisle. More to steady himself than her, if he was going to be completely honest with himself. "It was..." He caught her image in his peripheral vision, and it was the same as Ladybug's. He swallowed, hard. "...Enlightening."

He almost tripped down the stairs when he realized her blue eyes had been trained on him while he'd been talking.

Nino's and Alya's conversation drew closer, and Adrien finally tore his attention away from Marinette long enough to realize their friends were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for them. Marinette hurried her movements, moving to join them; Adrien slowed down a bit, staring awe-struck as she went.

The way her hair caught the light was the same as when they went out on patrols at dusk.

Adrien finally caught up to his friends, and as a group, they exited the theater together; Marinette and Nino gushed about how the movie had exceeded their expectations, and Alya took a group selfie on her phone.

Adrien thought it would be easy to slide back into seeing Marinette as just Marinette, but he couldn't possibly separate Ladybug from her now; when she laughed at something Alya said, it was a laugh he'd heard echo across rooftops late into the night. When she tilted her head to the side to better catch what Nino asked, it was a motion he'd seen a thousand times as she leaned in to hear him say something in the thick of a fight.

She really _was_ Ladybug, and the thought sent a thrill through him.

Marinette declined his offer to take her home, explaining that she was going back with Alya so they could catch up on how their days had gone.

"All right," he said, nodding. "See you later?"

Marinette nodded.

"Yeah!"

Did she know he meant their patrol tonight, not class on Monday? Probably not, but it didn't change the fact that in a few hours, he'd be standing somewhere in Paris with her near him, knowing full-well who was behind her red-and-polka-dots mask.

He waved; she waved back, smiling widely at him, a sight that made him infinitely happy.

As he closed the limousine door behind him and the car began its trek across the streets of evening Paris, he decided he knew three things now with absolute certainty.

One: Marinette's eyes were _definitely_ sky blue, _not_ brown. They were the kind of blue that made his heart beat ten times faster than it probably should and made him wonder if Hawkmoth chose butterflies as his evil sentinels because of how uncomfortable they felt fluttering around in your stomach.

Two: he was 110% sure that Marinette and Ladybug were one and the same. Same eyes. Same voice. Same smile. They were both heroes, even when he'd thought of them as separate entities, but now it made even more sense why she was always around when Akuma were. Why she still drew his attention, as both superhero and civilian. Because _she was Ladybug,_ and _Ladybug was Marinette_. She was wonderful, even without her mask; he was glad.

And three?

Marinette's nervous, blushing glances seared through his mind.

Three: He would never believe in coincidences again. _Ever._

* * *

 **THAT'S IT, FOLKS!**

 **Thanks for reading. This was a joy to write! :)**

 **xoxoPigTails**


	4. Chapter 4

**Crutches and Clues**

* * *

 _Chapter Four_

* * *

Ah.

Aaaaaaah.

How to speak? How to articulate words properly?

He'd forgotten how to do anything the moment he landed on the rooftop Ladybug designated as their meeting spot. (It was Marinette's bakery. Because Marinette was Ladybug, and she couldn't get around very well with her broken ankle. Not that he was supposed to know that; for all he knew, this was just another random building Ladybug picked out as their meeting place.) She stood patiently, sky-blue eyes trained on his approaching form as he descended, landing somewhat sluggishly on her rooftop.

"Ah, Chat, good timing!" Ladybug said, stepping forward a bit with the help of her crutches. It was eleven at night on the dot, twenty-three hours military time, and while the stars weren't very easy to see because of Paris' light pollution, the moon was round and bright and big, bathing the City of Love in its dazzling silver moonlight. It glittered like starlight against Ladybug's dark hair and in her sky-blue eyes. "I was starting to wonder if you'd gotten lost."

Ah. Right.

Reply.

Adrien panicked, and when he panicked, his alter ego took over. In this case, he was grateful, because he wasn't sure he could have handled seeing Ladybug and recognizing Marinette while still being Adrien himself.

So Chat Noir, smooth as silk, laughed. "The only time I'm ever lost is when I look into your eyes," he said with a wink and a quick-beating heart.

And it was true. While Marinette was pretty prone to clumsiness herself, Adrien found that he'd been giving her a run for her money as "Most Likely to Trip over Air." Any time their eyes locked (which had been exactly twice at the theater earlier as civilians and right now as heroes) Adrien felt the wind get thoroughly knocked out of him; for a few split seconds, the world came grinding to a halt, and all that mattered was how very BLUE her eyes were, and how SCATTERED her freckles were across her nose and cheeks, and how LUCKY he was to have met her.

And since his mind stopped working for a few seconds, his body would shut down, and Adrien found himself stumbling forward for the third time today. He righted himself quickly, grinning it off.

Ladybug didn't seem to have noticed, thankfully. She rolled her eyes, lips curled upward in a small smile at his words. She leaned heavily on her left side, taking pressure off of her injured right ankle.

"I'm sorry I can't help much right now," Ladybug said, honest eyes expressing her guilt. "It can't be helped, though, so did you finish your sweep yet?"

"Yup," Chat replied. "Came over to our meeting spot once I wrapped up."

"Ah, good!" Ladybug sighed. "Thanks. I know it's a lot of work, to cover all of Paris before eleven at night on your own."

"I was walking on air, I promise," Chat said smoothly. "If it's for you, I'd travel the whole world before midnight."

"That's pushing it a little, Kitty," Marinette said. "Just a LITTLE unbelievable there."

"What, you doubt my powers?" Chat flexed a muscle playfully, black leather rustling from the movement. "These babies are packed with world-patrolling strength."

Marinette giggled then, and Adrien saw the night sky brighten considerably.

Their eyes met for the second time as heroes and the fourth time that day, and after going breathless for a moment again and subsequently recovering, Adrien steeled himself for what was to come.

He owed it to her to tell her the truth. That he'd figured it out at the theater. That he hadn't been looking for her, but he'd found her anyways. He was nervous of her reaction; Ladybug had made it no secret that she wanted to keep their civilian identities separate from their hero ones. Adrien was afraid he might lose her, right after literally just finding her a mere six-and-a-half hours ago.

But she deserved the best, and she deserved the truth. So Adrien would put his best foot forward and pray that her good luck was on his side.

"Ladybug, we need to talk," he said, tone shifting; his Lady sensed the serious quality in his voice and adjusted her demeanor, looking on expectantly and with some concern.

Adrien took a deep breath.

"I..." His throat was unusually dry, but he pressed on. "I figured out that... You..."

And then...

... And then Adrien Agreste chickened out. He panicked, and when he panicked, his alter ego took over.

And this time, unfortunately, luck was NOT on his side.

"... You know, there's a cat joke that works in lots of different languages."

Oh.

Oh _no._

Ladybug groaned, covering her ears.

"I had enough cat puns at the library, thank you very much."

 _Oh boy._

"But it's actually pretty funny, I swear," he pressed on, putting his hands up defensively.

Ladybug rolled her eyes.

"It's late, Chat," she said. "We should both head to bed for now." The corner of her mouth turned up. "There'll be plenty of time for cat puns the next time an Akuma shows up."

And Adrien, horrified and embarrassed on the inside, only managed to nod his head at her and say a quick goodbye before turning and running.

With his tail between his legs and a jumble of words caught in his throat.

* * *

The next school day was their group presentation for Mme. Mendeleiev's class.

His group project with Marinette.

HOW WAS HE SUPPOSED TO LOOK HER IN THE EYE WITHOUT FEELING A WAVE OF GUILT COME CRASHING OVER HIS HEAD?

There was really no way around it, if he were to be completely honest with himself. Adrien hadn't had the guts to tell Marinette he knew she was Ladybug. He had the perfect opportunity to tell her everything - from figuring her out to confessing his love - and he'd bombed it. Boom, crash, kablooey.

There went his confidence.

He felt awful. His fear of losing her had gripped him so hard and fast that he'd choked the truth down, stuttering out a lie about CAT PUNS instead. He hadn't told her the truth.

Hadn't been able to.

The guilt was not going to go away; it would just keep festering until it finally wrenched itself free, and probably in a manner that would scream 'bad luck.' He was Chat Noir for a reason; wherever he went, bad luck followed, and like a dog on a leash, sometimes it yanked him off his intended course.

Adrien tapped his pencil nervously against his notebook. He'd gotten to school earlier than usual; he'd been restless at home all night, getting sleep in agitated spurts that made him feel like he hadn't slept at all. So, for lack of anything else to do, he slid out of bed at six in the morning and got ready for his day. Even Plagg had commented on Adrien's inability to sit still on their ride to school (snidely, as was in his little Kwami nature).

But what could Adrien do about any of it? Nothing, that's what. Saying anything hero-related to Marinette here at school was unyieldingly off-limits. Even though the truth was practically eating away at him, Adrien would just have to wait until an Akuma attack or something before he'd be able to pull his Lady aside for some heart-to-heart.

His thoughts came to a jolting halt when his ears picked out an unmistakable laugh through the throng of noise filling the hallway. Students began to pour into the building, their eager chatter flooding through the narrow halls and passageways. Still, he was sure he could pick out that voice, even in a crowd of a thousand.

His eyes immediately recognized Marinette's black pigtails through the classroom window as she approached the doorway, and when she walked into the class and her head swiveled towards him, Adrien felt his heart stop, then pick up, beating two times faster than before.

For someone who played with confidence like it was a ball of yarn, he was one very, very nervous kitty cat. Never mind that he modeled for a living, or that as Chat Noir he was literally the flirtiest idol figure in all of Paris. That didn't matter at all, because he wasn't grinning at a camera or wagging eyebrows at a hyped crowd.

He was just Adrien, and he was terrified he might scare away the love of his life.

Marinette smiled a wide smile, and after he automatically smiled and waved back, she hobbled up the steps to take her seat behind him. He moved to get up and help her, like he'd done before, but hesitated, and in the time it took for him to override his unwarranted frozen-in-absolute-fear state of being, Alya had already helped her bestie settle down.

Adrien silently turned back to face the front of the room again and tried to ignore the guilt creeping up on him. This was neither the place nor the time to deal with his alter ego's mistakes. He knew that.

In the meantime, he had a presentation to worry about, and since Marinette was usually verbally incapacitated around him, Adrien knew he'd have to be prepared do most of the talking, just in case she forgot what to say. Not to mention the fact that she might tumble down (or up) the steps to and from the front of the classroom; he'd have to keep a close eye on her to ensure she didn't hurt herself any more. The last thing Ladybug needed was an arm sling to match the ankle cast.

 _We'll talk later,_ he thought reassuringly to himself, clenching his hands together and leaning forward against his desk. _Tonight. For sure._

Behind him, he heard Alya whisper something excitedly to Marinette, who gasped and then burst into a peal of giggles. It was music to his ears.

 _I owe her that much._

* * *

 **Sorry I havent been able to reply to reviews. Ffnet FINALLY fixed the thing. I was so overwhelmed, in the best of ways, by all of your reviews! I honestly didn't know how much you all enjoyed it. So... Surprise! There's going to be more! At LEAST another chapter's worth. :)**

 **Love ya!**  
 **xoxoPigTails**


	5. Chapter 5

**Crutches and Clues**

* * *

 _Chapter Five_

* * *

Adrien had planned out everything perfectly, and fairly precisely. He would meet Marinette this evening, under the lovely crescent moon, and before he lost his courage, before he got lost in her sky-blue eyes for staring too long, he would just... tell her. Everything: that he knew, and that it was okay, at least on his end, because he would never, ever betray her, or hurt her, because he loved her, loved her for her courage, loved her for her kindness, and he hoped she felt the same. And, if the opportunity arose, he would happily grab a kiss or two on her rooftop before heading home for the night. (Best case scenario: he proposed, she accepted, and they lived happily ever after; that was stretching it a bit, though. Baby steps first. Like first dates.)

Everything would be different once she knew, but hopefully, it would be a good kind of different. She was not the type to hold it against him for figuring out her identity by accident. It was no coincidence that both she and Ladybug currently needed crutches. And it was no coincidence that her eyes held the same kind of passion in them. No, she wouldn't fault him for recognizing her as herself. She was lady luck herself; she would find a way to make his fears vanish, and she would find a way to make things work between them, one way or another.

She had enough Ladybug luck for the both of them.

Chat Noir perched on a building opposite the Dupain-Cheng bakery, squatting comfortably and peering across the way with unabashed interest. He could tell Marinette was in her bedroom because the light was on, shining yellow and bright through her curtained window. He had been watching for quite some time now, and his keen eyesight helped him catch her flurries of movement. Occasionally, she would flit across his line of vision through an open window in her house, heading downstairs to help her parents or bring up a snack for herself. Her silver crutches flashed with every movement she made, impossible for him to miss.

She must be studying right now, though, because he hadn't caught sight of her since she'd last skipped up to her room with a few cookies in hand. He had been hoping she would come up onto her balcony, or maybe catch sight of him, but it hadn't happened, and it was getting late.

He needed to act soon.

He waited with baited breath, unsure whether he wanted to interrupt her studies, before deciding to press forward. His plan would go to waste if he didn't see it through. Pushing off the rooftop with his staff, he vaulted the distance between him and Marinette's roof, landing and rolling gracefully with little sound.

Quite proud of himself for such a good landing, he stood quickly, twirling his staff in hand with a grin on his face.

His staff knocked over one of the potted plants on the roof.

He froze.

A mere four seconds later, he heard some scrambling, and then the hatch to the roof flew open, showing a startled Marinette as she poked her head concernedly out.

When their eyes locked, Adrien forced himself to take a shaky breath. He shrugged guility.

"Sorry about the plant," he said.

Marinette looked at him suspiciously for a few more moments before throwing her crutches onto the roof and climbing out to join him. She took his outstretched hand to steady herself as she balanced on her crutches, and then she tilted her head.

"What do you want, Chat Noir?" she asked. He expected irritation in her tone. He couldn't blame her; not only was he eating away at her study time, but he'd also knocked over one of the plants she took such good care of.

But no, she seemed genuinely concerned for him, blue eyes sincere and peering up at him with the kind of worry he'd only ever seen in the eyes of friends, and his mother, when she was still with him. The kind of worry he'd only ever seen in the eyes of people who cared.

She _cared_. Oh, if his heart had wings...

He had to press his lips together to keep them from trembling with relief. Instead, he glanced at her pigtails, silky and straight and black under the moonlight, and his heart warmed. _Marinette_ was _Ladybug_. It was all too easy to slip into his normal Chat Noir ease in her presence, so he did just that, continuing onward with his plan.

"Checking in on you, naturally," he replied. "It's such a lovely night, but you're not out enjoying it, I see."

Marinette shrugged. "I have homework," she explained simply.

His grin widened. "So do I," he replied mischievously.

"So why aren't you doing it?" she asked him, shifting her weight to her good foot.

"Because there are more important things than homework on my mind right now," he responded. "Like talking to you."

Marinette's eyebrows went up.

"I doubt Ladybug sent you here," she said. "So what is it, Chat Noir?"

There it was again. Her genuine concern. It warmed his heart to hear it, to hear confirmation that he mattered to her to some degree, reminded him that, no matter what, she would not hate him. And so his smile grew softer.

"I just need to speak to you," he told her, bowing exaggeratedly. "I'd like to request an audience with you, my Princess."

He looked up and she nodded, tilting her head. It was his cue to talk.

(Aaaaaaaand this was where he'd kind of skimped on the details a bit. What exactly to say? He'd been wracking his brain all day long to try and find the right words to convey his emotions: surprise, delight, adoration, unfettered love. But all his mind gave him was mush, because "I really like how brave you are and you inspire me so much and I love you Marinette also I love you as Ladybug too and oh right I'm Adrien who would have guessed haha" did not qualify as the right words to say. At all.)

But he owed it to her to tell her. He owed her the _world_.

"Well," he started. "Marinette, I..."

She blinked expectantly. And the look in her eyes right then, with the crescent moon glinting against the clear blue of her eyes, oh _God_ , it made his heart _swell_ with love, and he felt it, felt her Ladybug luck seeping into his skin and onto his tongue, pooling in his mind and soul and filling his whole existence with meaning, and he took a step forward, opened his mouth to speak-

-and, to his absolute _horror_ , what came out of his mouth was, "Your crutches. I like them."

…... Oh _no._

"W-Wait. _"_ No, he could save this, he could clarify to her, let her know what he meant. "What I meant was..." But, oh, what had he meant to say? How had the _crutches_ come to the forefront of his mind? And he knew, of course, it was because she hurt her ankle that he'd found out, but he'd said he liked her crutches, that wasn't true, now he sounded like he was glad she hurt her ankle, which was far far so far from the truth, and-

-and Adrien panicked.

And when Adrien panicked, his alter ego took over.

At least Chat Noir was smooth.

"I like your crutches."

…... So much for Ladybug luck.

Adrien was beyond slipping into a facade of calm collection. He was Adrien, he was Chat Noir, and he was fumbling, grasping for straws; and even though he had so much to tell her, all he could think about were the crutches, those silver metal crutches that gleamed under the moonlight and clipped lightly against the floor of the library they'd studied at, and the cast around her ankle of plaster turned polka dots when she became Ladybug, and her silhouette against the backdrop of Paris.

He didn't need luck. He just needed her.

"What?" Marinette seemed taken aback, and pursed her lips. "Um... Thank you?"

He shook his head and laughed. Laughed, because this was just his (bad) luck, and it seemed to fit that it would all come to light in the wrong way.

"That's not what I... Okay." He took a deep breath. Attempt #3. "I know who you are, Marinette."

Success. _Yesssssss._

She tensed. Her eyes flashed lightning when they met his own, a maelstrom of suspicion. He cleared the space between them in seconds, taking her hand in his and placing the most tender of kisses upon it.

"My Lady." Breathless, he was breathless, and when he looked up, he knew she was, too, because he could see the gears turning behind her eyes. He knew that look. It was the look that saved Paris time and time again. It was Ladybug, piecing the puzzle together; it was Marinette, stringing his words together into a tapestry of comprehension, of knowing who was who and what was right.

"Chat," she breathed. _Breathed_ ; he'd never taken her breath away before, but he loved the sound. "But..." Then she trailed off, wind dying, and she closed her eyes, pulled her hand away.

And laughed.

"That's what you meant!" she said between laughs. "The- The crutches – you figured it out b-because- _oh_!" And he joined her, unable to resist the pull of her voice, and they laughed with the kind of unrestrained laughter that pulled at his cheeks and pushed on his lungs. And when he finally caught his breath, he grinned so much he thought his cheeks would fall off.

"Cat's out of the bag," he said. She shook her head, pushing playfully at his shoulder (sparks flew, he could practically see them against his skin where her hand had touched him, and they were so close to each other, when had they gotten so very close?) before speaking.

"You can't tell anyone," she told him.

"I know," he breathed.

"And you owe me a pot."

He laughed, a sheepish grin on his lips. "Your wish is my command, my Lady,"

Marinette shook her head again. "Chat Noir, you're so _silly_." She took a deep breath, then. "Thank you for coming all this way... Just to tell me. It means a lot to me." She smiled understandingly, and oh, his heart _did_ have wings, and he was soaring, soaring, and he wanted to reach out and hold her, hold her until he told her everything.

But no, baby steps. This was enough for one day. His feelings could wait for another.

Marinette nodded to the hatch. "We could stay and talk for hours, but I have homework, so you need to go home now, kitty."

It was true; Plagg would be starving once he got home, and he had just as much homework to finish as she did. "All right," he agreed. "Good night, Princess."

She waved, and he waved back, and she began her trek down into her room again, her crutches tucked safely under one of her arms as she maneuvered down her ladder with her one good leg and her hands.

He was elated.

 _She knew_.

He felt light again; his guilt was gone. She wasn't going to hate him for knowing her identity. She understood that he'd figured it out, and she didn't mind. She was perfectly fine with being Marinette, and with him... being...

Wait. Had he told her he was...?

He mentally went over their conversation. _I like your crutches, my Lady, I know, all right..._

Adrien? _Had he said he was Adrien?_

The hatch closed, and his heart stopped, and for several moments, he did nothing but stare at it, eyes wide and mouth ajar.

"Wait," he finally, weakly, said to the closed hatch.

But of course, the hatch did not reply, and so his word was lost to the winds of the night.

* * *

 **A/N: Someone carry me to silver so I won't be distracted from my chemistry by ranked ;A; Pls.**

 **On a side note: YES. I AM NOT ABANDONING MY STORIES. I AM JUST BUSY BEING A STUDENT. A LAZY ONE. uwu So don't worry about that. I love all my fics too much to throw them away like that. And thus: MariChat. I'm not a big MariChat fan myself, but I definitely see the appeal. I'm just a sucker for Ladrien and Adrienette. ~ they're so cute!**

 **Anyways, stay cool and study hard, miraculers!**

 **xoxoPigTails**


	6. Chapter 6

**Crutches and Clues**

* * *

 _Chapter Six_

* * *

 _Well,_ Adrien Agreste thought to himself as he rolled out of bed the next day, blond hair a bedhead mess and green eyes groggy with sleep, _Whatever._

He had given the issue (of his neglecting to mention his identity to the love of his life) a lot of thought, having carefully mulled over it for the (entire) night, and had come to one simple conclusion: _So what?_

So he hadn't gotten around to telling Marinette his identity as her Akuma-fighting, leather-clad partner. Big deal. He'd told her that he, as Chat Noir, had figured out she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. That Ladybug was Marinette, the clumsy girl behind him in class; that Marinette was Ladybug, the brilliant girl who casually saved the world on a daily basis. That was a _huge_ deal, at least in his book, and probably – definitely – in hers, too.

So it wasn't _everything_ he'd meant to tell her. He'd accidentally left out the minor detail that he sat in front of her in class. That Chat Noir's civilian form was Adrien Agreste, the boy who'd brought he flowers when she first hurt her ankle.

Oh, well. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. The most important thing now was that he'd gotten the truth of knowing her identity off his chest. Letting her know his would come later.

 _Baby steps._

 _Whatever._ He tried not to let the word seem too bittersweet in his mind. But it soaked into his morning routine; when he brushed his teeth, it was with more vigor than necessary; when he was done eating breakfast, he essentially tossed his silverware onto the table; and when he stomped down the grand staircase, his furrowed brow only confirmed to him that he was, in fact, upset.

Plagg, ever the chipper morning sprite, did his best to cheer up his chosen human.

"Don't worry, Adrien," he said, nibbling on a perfectly-shaped triangle slice of camembert from inside Adrien's bag, poking his head out to speak to the young man. Adrien scrunched up his nose as the smelly cheese's scent wafted up to his face. "For now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the finer things in life. Like cheese." He polished off his food with a flourish, to demonstrate his point.

And despite the lingering stench of camembert, the air around Adrien suddenly seemed a bit clearer.

"You're right, Plagg," Adrien agreed, nodding. "There's nothing to worry about. Everything'll be fine in the long run."

Marinette was Ladybug. She knew Chat Noir had found out who she was.

And she was okay with it.

Her laughter rang in his ears.

Well, he thought again while getting into his limousine, Plagg quietly settling back into the recesses of his school bag to munch on the camembert contained in its depths, Whatever.

 _It'll be fine._

It was fine for all of about five minutes, until the car passed by a flower shop halfway to school.

There was a cute floral display in the window that caught Adrien's attention; eyes widening, he yelled for the Gorilla to stop, bolted from the limo before it had quite finished rolling to a halt, dove through the doorway, grabbed what had caught his eye, slammed his money down on the cashier's counter with no small amount of fervor, and tried to ignore the fact that he was not at all yielding to his "baby steps" decision.

Oh, well.

Needless to say, by the time Adrien got to school, he felt both proud of himself (for remembering to get the item he hereby dubbed the SMOOTHEST GIFT _EVER_ ) and guilty (for not having the self-control to follow through with waiting at least another day to buy it). He was grateful that Nino bolted to his side as soon as he stepped out of his car; Nino had a way with conversation that almost always calmed him down, and even more importantly, his nonstop chatter over video games and music albums meant it was easy for Adrien to become distracted.

Which was what he needed, because his nerves were starting to eat away at him.

"Good morning, Adrien!" Nino practically yelled into his blond friend's ear. "How'd you sleep last night?"

"Not so well," Adrien admitted, yawning. "I couldn't stop... Thinking."

Nino let out a sound of sympathy, tossing his arm around Adrien's shoulder. "Man, I hate it when that happens. You know, I was up late, too, thinking about that new Nintendo game coming out this month. Like, I was obsessing over what the plot's gonna be, you know?"

"Oh, yeah?" asked Adrien. "What're your theories?"

Nino grinned broadly.

"Oh man, where to even start?"

Here was the thing about Nino: he never pried. He never forced someone to talk about things they didn't want to. If Nino sensed Adrien wasn't up to discussing whatever was eating away at him, he'd fill in the conversation himself, all while sporting a goofy grin and his ever-present headphones.

Adrien sent a silent prayer to the cloudy sky for being able to have such a wonderful best friend.

They made their way inside the school and into their classroom, taking their seats while laughing over a game commercial they'd both seen recently. ("His voice was so deep!" "I didn't think it was him speaking, it sounds nothing like his usual high-pitched squeaks!") Adrien was so thoroughly immersed in his friends conversation that when Marinette walked through the door, he almost didn't notice.

Almost.

(Oh, who was he kidding? He'd been keeping an eye out for her the whole time.)

She didn't look tired at all. That was the first thing he noticed. No bags under her eyes. He was relieved she hadn't been kept up too long by his impromptu visit, or plagued by thoughts of "what ifs" like he had all night. She and Alya were in the middle of an animated conversation, and the girls made it to the steps beside Adrien without pause. He felt his heart practically leap into his throat when Marinette turned her head to smile at him.

He was about to smile back when she tripped.

He stood and reached out instinctively, steadying her. She leaned into him, just a bit, and where his hands touched her - her shoulder, the bare skin of her arm - where he touched her felt like fire beneath his skin, burning and poignant. His pulse danced. For a few moments, all he knew was that her eyes were impossibly blue, and very wide, and trained completely on him, and _Hey, this is a good moment to ask her o_ -

The crutches clattered loudly to the floor, and the spell was broken; and like a princess scurrying away before midnight, Marinette delicately but firmly took her hand out of his and hopped back to her seat, leaning over to pick up her crutches.

And all the while, she avoided meeting his gaze again.

He took a breath that hopefully didn't sound as much like a shudder as it felt like.

 _Well,_ he thought dazedly as their teacher walked in and he turned around in his seat, _Whatever._

 _Baby steps._

* * *

 _Ah. Rain._

As Adrien grabbed the SMOOTH GIFT _EVER_ from his locker and slipped it into his shoulder bag, he faintly heard thunder rolling from outside the school building. It had been in the forecast Nathalie had warned him about in the morning; but he'd forgotten his umbrella at home due to nerves and lack of , it was just a quick walk to the car, but...

He glanced around the corner of a row of lockers.

... But Marinette didn't look like she had an umbrella either, if her frowning at the window was any indication.

Once she'd gathered all her things, she made her way to the front entrance; Adrien followed suit, timing his steps so they both made it out the doors right after each other. His hand grazed against his bag; the outline of the SMOOTHEST GIFT _EVER_ pressed back against his fingers, and gave him courage.

"Marinette," he said.

She let out a squeak and whirled around to face him again with wide eyes.

"A-Adrien!" she breathed. Breathed. He felt his own breath catch in his throat, but then he let it out in a breathy chuckle, turning to look out at the rain.

"As much as I like rain, I think we'd get soaked out there without umbrellas." The rain pooled on each step of the stairs, puddles reflecting the gray sky above. When it rained, everything always felt subdued. Colors lost their vibrance, and the pitter-patter of raindrops dampened the otherwise noisy Parisian streets. "We should probably wait this out."

For a few seconds, she stared back, mouth hanging open in a silent "oh," and then she smiled back widely.

"Yeah," she said. Adrien took that as his cue to usher her back inside, and after a bit if awkward, but not uncomfortable, small-talk, they found themselves sitting together in an empty classroom. Rain tapped lightly against the windows in the room, liquid pebbles hurled from the heavens above, and what light filtered through did little to brighten their surroundings. Still, as Adrien managed to coax a giggle from Marinette with a weather pun, he realized it was beautiful, in its own way: the empty desks, the cloudy sky, the lulling sound of the rain.

This was it.

Now or never.

He cleared his throat.

"Marinette," he said, "I need to... Tell you something." He had to choose his words carefully, so he didn't mess up this time.

Thankfully, Marinette said nothing, only peering up at him attentively from beneath her eyelashes, pink dusting her freckled cheeks.

He swallowed.

"I have a..." He trailed off, watching with distracted curiosity as Marinette's eyes widened and her pink cheeks turned scarlet.

He was overcome with a wicked urge to smirk, lean in, and flirt. To his horror, he did the first two, but he caught his tongue before anything stupid slipped out of his mouth. He nearly panicked, because what if she leaned away from him, or frowned, or-

-or turned redder? And... And grinned wider?

 _What..._

 _What is this?!_

Adrien tried to wrap his mind around her reaction. She was an open book with her emotions, as always, so it made his job easier. She was flustered, obviously, but... Embarrassed? No, not with a grin like that. Marinette always frowned when she was embarrassed. She wasn't merely happy, either. Not with the way her eyes were bright and wide like that. No, she looked more hopeful, more...

 _Wait._

Time came to a crawl as a thought, small but growing quickly, found its way to the forefront of his mind. A blush, a smile, a hope... Could it be...?

Well, there was one way to find out.

"... A secret," he continued, gauging her reactions with his eyes. He leaned a little closer still; she tensed, her nervous arms freezing by her heart, but didn't pull away. "Can I share it with you?"

"Okay," she replied immediately. "U-Uh, that is, if you want me." She paused. She gasped. "TO LISTEN. TO YOU. If you want to liste- want me to... To hear it."

 _If you want me._ The thought at the forefront of his mind grew warm like a flame.

"Well, the truth is..." His heart pounded against his chest and rang in his ears. He tilted his head, close enough to breathe against her neck while he spoke softly into her ear. "There's a girl I really like."

He pulled back to see.

She looked crestfallen.

His flame burned.

"It's Ladybug!" It slipped out quickly. Not that he would take it back, because Marinette looked up, a little surprised, but no longer as sad. "And I... Well..." He trailed off and, after pressing his lips together, he reached into his bag, pulled out the SMOOTHEST GIFT _EVER_ , and put it on the desk between them.

And then he waited.

Marinette looked down at the desk, confused; glanced back at him, confused; looked down at the desk, suspicious; glanced back at him, suspicious; looked down at the desk, realization dawning in her eyes.

Looked back at him, eyes wide and full of... He had no idea what, but it was something intense, something that set his heart racing a mile a minute.

"Chat Noir." It wasn't a question, just a simple statement that hung in the air between them.

This was it. He couldn't turn back now. She knew. Finally. _Finally,_ after his many attempts, he'd told her. (Without actually saying it, but that was an aside.) Their best-kept secrets were out, laid bare before each other.

Marinette was Ladybug. Adrien was Chat Noir. Two facts, irreversibly true in their simplicity and hilariously startling to actually recognize. (Because, really, who could have guessed that the superheroes of Paris struggled through chemistry and French class together on a regular basis and hadn't realized it?)

"My Lady," he replied after a few moments. Thunder rolled outside, shaking the building, and Adrien felt his heart stop, for just an instant.

Marinette opened her mouth, but then snapped it shut.

And, quick as lightning and just as unexpected, she bolted from the room.

Adrien was too surprised by the look in her eyes to give chase.

She had looked... Scared. Terrified.

Of _him._

He reached out, intending to knock his present off the desk and smash it to smithereens, but at the last second he stopped his hand, bringing it to rest gently beside the gift instead.

Sadness, pure and heart-wrenching, rolled over him as thunder went off again in the distance. He swallowed, hard, and with careful movements picked up the pot he'd brought and cradled it in his arms. Slowly, with deliberate steps, he made his way outside; the rain quickly soaked through his clothes.

 _Well..._

It was cold. He shivered.

 _Whatever._

* * *

 **A/N: Surprise! I'm alive! Dying slowly because school, but still chuggin' for now.**

 **This would have been longer, but it was just somewhat disjointed, so I split it up. That's my usual solution to disjointed writing. (And it usually solves the problem.) Also, I had to heavily edit the latter portion of this due to accidental Origins spoilers. (I'm both thrilled and mortified that I guessed correctly about the whole umbrella situation.) Rest assured, it's spoiler-free! :)**

 **See ya next time, and have a miraculous weekend!**

 **xoxoPigTails**


	7. Chapter 7

**Crutches and Clues**

* * *

 _Chapter Seven_

* * *

You couldn't run very far with crutches.

Marinette, huffing and puffing, had to pause to catch her breath a measly _block_ away from school. Her crutches came to a stop in a muddy patch of grass in the park, sinking in just a little as she let her full weight lean on them to hold her up.

"Oh my god, Tikki," she mumbled shakily between gasps, her voice barely audible above the rain and thunder hailing from the sky above, "Why did I _run_?"

"You really didn't," Tikki replied, whizzing out of her hiding spot to cuddle Marinette's cheek gently. The gesture helped ease Marinette's rapidly-beating heart. "Not with the crutches."

"But I... He... And I..." Marinette struggled to form a coherent line of thought; instead, she replayed their entire conversation, from scratch to finish, and wondered if her cheeks were flushed from exertion or embarrassment.

"Maybe you were just surprised?" the red Kwami offered, flying around to meet Marinette's eyes. They looked at each other for a good few moments of silence.

Then Marinette laughed.

"Surprised?" she asked, teetering. "That's one way of putting it! Hah!" She looked down at her cast-bound ankle. "I..." She sighed. "I guess I am," she said softly. "I never would have guessed..."

"That I was Chat Noir?"

She wheeled around, watery eyes wide as Tikki instinctively dove for her hiding spot in Marinette's purse. Near her, standing in equally-muddy grass, Adrien shrugged.

"I spotted you from the window and came after you," he admitted sheepishly. In his arms was the pot – the pot that had rendered her speechless and kicked her fight-or-flight instincts into overdrive. It had a simple design: it was just a regular clay pot with a trail of painted ladybugs on the side. It wasn't overly special. But at the same time, it held a significance to it that was unparalleled by anything Marinette had ever known.

Because it meant that _Adrien_ was Chat Noir.

They were both soaked, as Adrien had predicted earlier; the rain pooling in the ground around them was murky, and the gray clouds above kept much light from shining down on them.

Marinette _really_ hoped her friend wasn't as sad as he looked. That it was just the rain making it seem that way.

"I..." She stopped, tried again. "Yes, but... You..." She bit down on her lower lip, afraid she would mess up her words in his presence.

Adrien nodded slowly.

"It's okay," he replied. "I understand."

She looked up at him through her eyelashes and saw the crestfallen look on his face clear as day.

 _Oh, no. No, no, nonononono-_

"Not like that!" she spouted. She took a step forward, careful with her crutches so they wouldn't slip in the mud. "No, Adrien, you could never – y-you're perfect!" She blushed, belatedly realizing what had slipped out of her mouth, but continued. "No, no, it's not that, it's just that... That I..."

Her words caught in her throat.

She couldn't say it.

But she _had_ to. The look in his eyes just a few moments ago was too painful to ignore. She couldn't let Adrien be so upset, especially because of _her_.

So she took a deep breath and did her best.

"It's that I... I've always liked..." She couldn't finish. She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't finish that sentence, but she had to let him know. "And to find out that all this time, you... You felt... I-I just got scared. That..." She swallowed hard, unable to will herselt to meet his gaze. "That you didn't mean it. Maybe. I don't know."

The sound of rain falling thundered in her ears.

"I always meant it."

She dared a glance up at Adrien to find him smiling a little. She shivered. It was so cold, but that wasn't the reason why.

"Everything I ever said and did, I meant it." He took a step towards her, slowly. "I would never hurt you, Marinette, because I really, really do..." It was his turn to trail off, to be left speechless and have to start over. "Did you know it took me three times to tell you I knew?" He laughed. "And then when I finally said it, I forgot to tell you who _I_ was."

Shyly, but with the kindest smile Marinette had ever seen from anyone in her whole entire life, Adrien offered the pot to her.

The sky lit up with a bolt of lightning.

Heart about to burst from her chest, she reached out her own arms and grabbed hold of the pot.

* * *

 _The real question_ , Adrien thought to himself as he dried off from his shower and looked out at the still-cloudy evening sky above, _is whether I can call her my girlfriend or not._

They hadn't exactly sorted out the finer details of their relationship yet. After accepting the pot, Marinette had headed home, as had he. But still. He'd told her he liked her (sort of; did saying he liked Ladybug count? He thought it did, but whether Marinette thought so was another story), but she hadn't exactly admitted her dying devotion to him. He figured it was there (because context clues), but still... It would be nice to actually hear it, word for word.

But more importantly, he was just grateful that she wasn't disappointed. She'd said so herself. Assured him that he was... Oh, what was it again...? _Perfect._

The word made him giddy with happiness.

"Are you sure you want to patrol tonight?" Plagg asked from his comfortable position on the sofa. The plate of cheese beside him had been empty for a while now, but Plagg had been content to lounge the afternoon away while Adrien had love-sickly sighed his way through dinner and a shower. "It could rain again."

The stars of the night were hidden behind the rainclouds, but Adrien thought that tonight was the most beautiful night he'd ever had the luck to see.

"That doesn't bother me," Adrien replied. "A little rain could never keep me away from My Lady." He ignored the gagging sound Plagg made from the couch. "I can't wait to see her again."

Apparently, he couldn't wait more than five more minutes, because not seconds later, Plagg was sucked into the Chat Noir ring as Adrien transformed. He leaped out his bedroom window, soaring for a few wonderful moments before landing softly on the damp grounds around his mansion. The air was tinged with electricity, and he found himself leaping and whooping as he made his way across the Paris skyline, flipping with unbridled joy and brimming with all the recklessness of a teenage boy in love.

"You know you'll wake people up if you're that loud."

Even with his super-enhanced hearing, he usually missed Ladybug's sudden appearances on patrols with him. He nearly lost his balance in his surprise, but steadied himself a little ungraciously on the edge of a building before wheeling around to face her with a wickedly wide grin.

"Sorry. I can't help myself."

Ladybug – Marinette – leaned on her crutches, half-smiling herself. When their eyes met, she blinked, looked down at her feet, took a deep breath, and then looked up again. (Were her cheeks turning pink? It was hard to tell, it was dark out.)

"Just try to keep it down," she admonished him lightly. "Come on." With that, she launched herself into the night, and Chat Noir, like a kitten attracted to a light on the ground, followed after her, utterly mesmerised.

"You know that's kinda hard to do when we're flying over rooftops!" he shouted to her, moving swiftly to re-join her. "Especially when you leave me behind like that."

"Point taken," she said, smiling at him. She gracefully landed on one foot on the next rooftop, using her crutches as a means to help push her off for her next take-off. It was incredible to Adrien how quickly she'd adopted to using her crutches, even as Ladybug, and he admired how flawlessly she moved, even injured like that. Still, she moved noticeably slower than she did normally; he kept pace with her, keeping an eye out to make sure she didn't push herself too much.

For the rest of their patrol, they slipped back into their usual playful banter, and it thrilled Adrien to no end. Because even though she was Marinette and he was Adrien, that didn't matter. Because they were friends first and foremost, and maybe-something-more second, and despite the way those things had become all jumbled together with their superhero identities, they were still here together, talking as they always talked on patrols.

It was fantastic. It was amazing.

They finally reached the Eiffel Tower after circling the entire area for their patrol. They landed on the very top and settled down together, sitting side by side as they usually did to discuss battles and upcoming patrols. This time, a bit of their school lives seeped in, too. They talked about her crutches, and the homework they would have to finish tonight, and she even teased him about forgetting an umbrella. (He didn't mention that he'd done it on purpose. That could wait for another time, when they'd sorted out the whole maybe-something-more thing.)

It really was amazing, he thought as he looked at her freckled cheeks and drank in her sky-blue eyes. She looked beautiful under the cloudy sky. She looked beautiful in the lights shining off the Eiffel Tower. She looked beautiful with or without the mask, and he was the luckiest guy in the world to know both faces. She was amazing. Their relationship was amazing.

When he hesitantly took her hand in his, and she hesitantly intertwined her fingers with his, he allowed himself one more addition:

It was... _Miraculous._

* * *

 **AN: Thanks for sticking with me for this. Leave a review if you loved it. It was a fun ride!**

 **xoxoPigTails**


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